MOBILE, Ala. - Gavin LaValley powered the offense with four RBI lead and Alex Powers picked up his 14th save of the season as the Wahoos took the series opener 7-6 Wednesday night at Hank Aaron Stadium.Wednesday's contest against the BayBears was a back-and-forth battle that saw three separate lead
MOBILE, Ala. - Gavin LaValley powered the offense with four RBI lead and Alex Powers picked up his 14th save of the season as the Wahoos took the series opener 7-6 Wednesday night at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Wednesday's contest against the BayBears was a back-and-forth battle that saw three separate lead changes. It was the BayBears who struck first against Seth Varner (W, 7-2) in large part to some defensive miscues by the Wahoos.
Jahmai Jones opened the scoring by reaching on an error, stealing second base, and then coming home on a wild pitch by Varner to make it 1-0. Later in the inning, Jack Kruger reached on a fly ball that Aristides Aquino lost in the sun. He later scored on Zach Gibbons' double to center, and Roberto Baldoquin drove him home with a single to make it 3-0 after one.
The Wahoos responded quickly, scoring twice against Joe Gatto in the second inning. After Shed Long walked, Mitch Nay laced a double to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Narciso Crook's sac fly to center brought home one run, and Gavin LaValley's RBI-single cut the score down to 3-2.
Pensacola's big inning came in the sixth when the Wahoos cashed in on some poor pitching by the BayBears. TJ Friedl led off the inning with his first home run of the season, and after Mobile walked the bases loaded, LaValley delivered again a bases-clearing double off Adrian Almeida, which gave the Wahoos a 6-3 lead.
The BayBears answered with three runs of their own to tie the game at 6-6. After a single to Jose Rojas and a two-out walk to Baldoquin, Riley Unroe belted a three-run shot off Varner. Varner struck out Brandon Sandoval to finish his night with six innings of work in the books and six runs (three earned) allowed.
The Wahoos scored the winning run in the seventh. After Friedl, and Taylor Featherston singled, a wild pitch set up the Wahoos with second and third and only one out. Aristides Aquino brought home Friedl with a sac fly to left off Dario Beltre (1-1) to put the Wahoos up by one.
After Zack Weiss pitched two scoreless innings in relief, Alex Powers (S, 14) was called upon in the ninth inning to close out the game. Despite allowing a single to Unroe, Powers struck out two and induced Mitch Spires into a flyout to right to seal the win and give Powers his 14th save of the season.
The Battle of the Bay series continues tomorrow night as the Wahoos try to make it back-to-back wins. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (8-9, 4.25) will try to return to his winning ways on Thursday, and he will be opposed by RHP Jeremy Beasley (2-3, 3.29). Thursday's game can be found on the radio at 97.1 The Ticket/1490 AM Milton, and www.bluewahoos.com, with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
- Pensacola Blue Wahoos -
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The 2018 season is underway at beautiful Blue Wahoos Stadium on Pensacola Bay. Group packages, season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets are available for the 2018 season by calling (850) 934-8444 or online. Follow the Blue Wahoos at bluewahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos, and twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall
